Do you
want to climb better?
Of course! And you can,
if you're
willing to put in the work.
If you want to reach
your potential in hilly terrain, Climbing
for Roadies
distils the knowledge and skills that Coach Fred Matheny has
gained in nearly 4 decades of riding in Colorado and other vertical
areas.
As a cycling writer, Coach Fred
also has had the opportunity to ride with and learn from many fine
climbers. He has studied their training, their position on the
bike, their equipment, their shifting techniques, their tactics, how
they eat and drink in hilly terrain . . . in short, all the factors
that make them so good climbing—and descending.
Now the Coach is passing
this expert know-how to you!
Climbing
for Roadies contains valuable advice for racing success. But it's certainly not for
racers only. All of the guidance it contains will help recreational and
fitness cyclists who want to maximize their ability when
group rides, tours, centuries and other events include hilly roads.
Can this eBook turn you into a climber with
elite, pro-level ability? Sorry, no. There is
no magic—no way for even enthusiastic and dedicated recreational
roadies to "climb like a cycling god." That's simply impossible
without first being born with exceptional genetic gifts.
Pedaling a bike uphill is hard. It
takes hard work to improve. Are you willing to work? If your answer is
yes, you can develop into a stronger, faster, smarter climber and reach your
personal performance potential. Regardless of your natural talents, you can climb
far better than you ever have.
As you progress as a
climber, you'll enjoy these and other benefits:
·
Climbing boosts fitness.
One of cycling's dirty secrets is how little exercise moderate
riding produces. But add hills to the equation and the intensity
instantly increases. It's impossible to climb a 6-8% grade at a pedaling
cadence of 80-90 rpm without working hard enough to promote fitness.
·
Climbing puts you in
touch with your body. One of
the basic abilities of good riders is this communion with their physical
selves. They know to very tight margins exactly how hard they're working
and how much harder they can push before crossing the line into
anaerobic agony. And it's on climbs that this hard-won knowledge is most
easily gained.
·
If you climb well, you
can stay with the group.
Even if you don't race you'll probably ride with other people in the
local Sunday morning outing or in organized centuries and charity rides.
And make no mistake, even among non-racers there's a healthy dose of
competitive instinct that usually comes out when a climb looms.
·
Ability to climb
expands your cycling routes.
Because non-climbers tend to seek out flat routes their riding options
are limited. They are mired in the flatlands, stuck in the subjected
plains, shut out from the best scenery, deprived of the fun descents.
When they want to ride a century or organized tour, their options are
limited even more.
·
Climbing
well makes cycling more fun.
Your range of ride options is unlimited and so are your riding
companions. You can tour, race, join in hilly club rides and enjoy the
vertical scenery.
Bottom
line: Becoming a good climber is an essential step to becoming a
complete rider.
And because what goes up
must come down, Climbing for Roadies
contains a comprehensive chapter on
fast-but-safe descending.
$19.95
eBook
EXCERPT 1:
Climbing's
Mental Challenge
There's no way to put this delicately.
To climb fast you have to suffer.
Good climbing isn't just
about producing watts and being lean. Ascending fast also has a strong
psychological component because it hurts to work at your lactate
threshold and beyond. You breathe hard. Your quads ache. You want to go
home and whimper while lying in the hammock. The best riders have
learned to live with this pain and overcome it.
That
said, it is possible to climb without working very hard. If you equip
your bike with low gears and stay away from grades too steep for your
fitness/gearing combination, you can tootle up even lengthy climbs at a
steady but not overly demanding intensity. But this sort of moderate
intensity effort won't produce the stress necessary for significant
improvement. If you want to climb faster, you have to ask your body to
climb fast. There's no escaping the need to pay the price in hard work.
What does it take to be willing to
accept a high level of discomfort? The answer is strong motivation. You
need a rationale that switches the pain of climbing fast from misery to
enjoyment.
Some riders use anger as
a motivator. Lance Armstrong is a good example. His anger at his cancer
diagnosis and at his French team's decision to end his contract served
as powerful motivators. Later in his career, charges that he had doped
or that his style of riding made the Tour boring kept his competitive
fires burning brightly. Now as I write this in early 2009, all the
naysayers who gloat that he can't race well again at age 37 fuel his
desire.
You'll have to find your
own motivation. It can be anything that matters to you. Maybe it's
beating your riding buddies on the local killer hill. Maybe it's
improving your fitness or losing weight. Perhaps it's winning a hilly
race or setting a PR in a hilly century. It might be having more
confidence for a mountainous tour.
I coach at cycling camps
and often tell attendees that in order to stay in cycling they have to
be able to answer an important question: Why am I doing this?
You won't need to ask it
consciously. A small but sinister voice in your head will whisper,
quietly but insistently, whenever you're working hard on the bike.
You'll hear the query when you're riding into headwinds, when the cold
rain starts, at mile 75 (120 km) in a century ride (160 km).
But most of all you'll
hear it on climbs. Halfway up, when the sweat is dripping in your eyes
and your lungs feel like they're inhaling fire, that question will echo
inside your skull. Why am I doing this?
If you have a good
answer, you can quiet that obnoxious voice of negativity. But if you
have no answer, you'll slow down and pedal in defeat.
So it's important to know
why you're working hard on the bike. All riders need to figure this one
out for themselves. I can't answer it for you. If you really want to
climb better you need to find your own fundamental answer. And if you're
climbing a lot, you'll have plenty of soul-searching moments to help you
in your quest.
See Climbing for
Roadies table of contents
EXCERPT 2:
Foot
Position When Climbing
Some
coaches teach riders to
drop their heels while climbing in the saddle.
This
move is supposed to bring the calf muscles into the pedal stroke and
improve power.
Biomechanical studies
show that every rider has a natural foot position while pedaling. Some
riders point their toes down. A good example was 5-time Tour de France
winner Jacques Anquetil. Other riders pedal with a horizontal foot like
another 5-time Tour winner, Eddy Merckx. And some riders do
push through the bottom of their pedal strokes with heels lower than
toes. Greg LeMond, America's 3-time Tour champ, was often seen climbing
this way. It's my style too, as this photo shows.
If you try to change your
natural foot angle to look like your favorite pro, you're likely to get
injured. For example, intentionally dropping the heel during the power
phase of the pedal stroke can lead to Achilles tendon injuries and calf
soreness.
The most efficient foot
angle, and the one least likely to create injuries, is the one that you
employ naturally after your cleats are correctly positioned.
See
Climbing for Roadies table of contents
EXCERPT 3:
Efficiency
on Hilly Courses
Suppose you want to ride
a section of road as fast as possible.
The road has 3
hills in succession, each taking several minutes to climb and each
followed by a downhill of the same grade and length.
Is it better to work very
hard on the climbs and freewheel on the descents to recover? Or should
you try to maintain a steady but less intense pedaling effort going up
and going down?
Pedaling hard when you're
going much over 25 mph (40 kph) is largely wasted effort. The reason is
wind resistance, which increases quickly and forcefully at descending
speeds. If you continue pedaling, much of your power is used against the
wind with minimal improvement on speed.
I know some
randonneurs—riders who need to parcel their energy over 6, 8 or more
hours—who make it a rule to tuck and coast as soon as their descending
speed reaches 28 mph (45 kph). They get a chance to rest and conserve
energy without sacrificing much speed.
On the other hand, at
slow climbing speeds wind resistance is minimal so almost all effort
pays off in going faster.
To maximize your speed on a rolling
course like I've described, it's more efficient to climb at a
strong-but-controlled pace using the techniques suggested in this eBook.
Then when you begin to descend, pedal at
a moderate intensity to keep your speed, should it not exceed 25 mph (40
kph) or so. Don't try to power through the wind to eke out a few more
mph—you'll merely squander energy.
By pedaling moderately you'll recover
from the previous climb and be ready to push strongly up the next hill.
By coasting at faster descending speeds you'll conserve maximum energy.
See
Climbing for Roadies table of contents
And because what goes up must come down .
. .
EXCERPT 4:
Make
Fear Disappear on Descents
It isn't irrational to fear descending.
After all, you'll be going 2 or 3 times faster than usual
on an improbable machine with very skinny tires, staying upright only
because of your ability to balance. Your safety depends on the
ineluctable truths of physics. No wonder non-cyclists think we're crazy
as we careen down mountain passes at automobile speeds (or faster).
But descending isn't as
dangerous as it looks if done right. Some would argue that it's safer
than riding on flat roads where it's easy to get lulled into inattention
by the apparent lack of danger, only to be rudely awakened from reveries
by patches of glass or attacking dogs. When beginning a descent, though,
even the most experienced rider goes on full alert. That roar of wind is
the signal to pay attention.
Let's look a several ways
to reduce apprehension during descention.
·
Analyze why you're
fearful. Have
you fallen in the past? Does the sound of wind rushing through your
helmet vents freak you out? Do you visualize tires popping or suicidal
woodchucks throwing themselves into your front wheel? If you can
identify why descending makes you nervous you can formulate a plan to
overcome your fears.
·
Gain experience.
When we get good at an activity we feel much more
comfortable doing it. Maybe descending at 25 mph (40 kph) seemed scary
when you began riding. But as you gained skill on your bike your
threshold was bumped up to 35 mph (56 kph). With the increased
confidence that comes from greater expertise, there's no reason you
can't feel at ease when descending at 50 mph (80 kph).
·
Don't go (much) faster
than your comfort level. Pushing
the envelope too far is a sure way to keep descending scary. If every
downhill requires maximum courage you'll soon be limiting your rides to
flat roads. That's no fun and it sure won't make you a better climber.
You will gain confidence by descending as fast as your skill allows, and
that requires keeping something in reserve.
·
Relax.
There's that word again. One of the best pro descenders
of recent years was Italian Paolo Salvodelli. Nicknamed "The Falcon" for
his swooping style, he routinely dropped the peloton on downhills, a
skill that helped him win the Giro d'Italia twice.
If you watch video of
Salvodelli descending you'll be struck by how relaxed he looks. He's
taking corners at maximum speed and using every available inch of road.
His knee is almost brushing the guardrail. Yet he looks as unconcerned
as a recreational rider tooling along on the flats. Salvodelli's secret
was relaxation, the ability to stay completely in the moment.
Another attribute of top
descenders is confidence. Salvodelli wasn't thinking about what could
happen if he messed up. He knew he wasn't going to mess up. Despite
plunging down hills faster than anyone, he kept just a bit in reserve.
This leads to confidence, relaxation and better descending.
$19.95
eBook
TOC:
Climbing for Roadies
|
Table of Contents
About the Author
Introduction
-How Hills Are Measured and Rated
-Distance
-Vertical feet
-Steepness of grade
• Chapter
1: What Makes a Good Climber?
Weight
-Carbon/Alloy Lightweight Hybrid
-How Not to Lose Weight
-Balancing Fat and Muscle
-The Safe Way to Weight Loss
-Too Big to Climb Well?
Power
-Genetic Ceiling
Climbing's Mental Challenge
-Love of Vertical
-Location Isn't Destiny
• Chapter
2: Fundamentals
Bike Fit
Cleat Position
Gearing and Cadence
Another View of Cadence
Hand Positions
Shifting Techniques
Shifting Under Load
Shifting to Maintain Rhythm & Momentum
Stand or Sit?
Climbing Efficiency Test
Foot Position
Upper-Body Movement
Efficiency on Hilly Courses
Lessons from a Climbing Machine
Breathing
• Chapter
3: Training
Resistance Training
Climbing: A Test of Aerobic Capacity, Not Strength
Ideal Training Terrain
Gauging Intensity
-Power Meters
-Heart Monitors
-Speed
-Ratings of Perceived Exertion
-20-Minute Intensity Test
Hill Intervals
-Sprinter Intervals
-Standard Intervals
-Beat Boredom
-Measure Progress
• Chapter
4: Advanced Advice
Short, Steep Hills
Gradual Grinds
The Endless Road
Long, Steep Climbs
Unpaved Climbs
Finish the Hill
Climbing In a Group
-Group-Riding Rules
-Standing Safely
-Positioning
-Surging
Headwinds, Tailwinds
Consecutive Rolling Hills
Eating and Drinking
Psychological Ploys
• Chapter
5: Descending
Equipment Safety
Descending Position
Follow a Leader
Make Fear Disappear
Crosswinds
Shimmy (Speed Wobble)
Cornering
Countersteering
Choosing a Good Line
Consecutive Bends
Switchbacks
Broken Pavement
Cattle Guards
Animals
Dirt Descents
Descending in Cold Temperatures
Keeping Control
Crashproof Yourself
• Chapter
6: Special Circumstances
Training for Climbs on Flat Terrain
Dealing with Altitude
Heat, Wind and Cold
Wet Descents
The Bonk
• Chapter
7: Interviews
Lon Haldeman
Jan Heine
Will Frischkorn
Pete Penseyres
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